Important information for admitted students about Testing & Placement
Most new freshmen are required to take the following placement tests:
- The UT Austin Test in Chemistry 301 (for Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and other majors who studied chemistry in high school)
- Spanish, French, German, American Sign Language, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Polish or Russian (if students took these courses in high school or have prior knowledge of the language)
- Major-specific tests (Depending on the academic major an incoming student is admitted to, the student may need to take additional placement tests.)
Additional Details about Placement Testing
Possible exemptions
You may be exempt from these placement tests if you have satisfactory scores on AP or IB tests or have completed college-level transfer credit.
When students should take placement exams
You’re encouraged to take placement exams (particularly SAT subject tests) prior to orientation. If you haven’t taken the required placement tests before orientation, you’ll need to take them during orientation before you register for classes. All required tests are offered on campus during each of the freshman summer orientation sessions. Optional tests are offered in August prior to fall registration. You may register for the tests when you register for orientation on the New Student Services web site.
Additional information about major-specific, placement, and optional testing for new students is available from Student Testing Services (formerly Measurement and Evaluation).
Retaking tests
If you take placement tests through the College Board, be sure to request that the scores be sent to UT Austin (code 6882). If you’ve take placement tests elsewhere and you want to try to improve your scores, you may take them again at UT Austin if the university offers them. UT Austin will accept the highest scores. The tests listed above can be taken only once on the UT Austin campus.
College Credit for Earning an IB Diploma
Students who are admitted to the university and have earned an IB Diploma with scores of 4 or higher during high school will qualify for at least 24 hours of college credit. Details about the program are available from the Student Testing Services (formerly the Measurement and Evaluation Center).
College Credit Earned While in High School
Admitted students are often anxious to see about obtaining college credit for courses they took while in high school (through a community college, dual coursework, or AP or IB exams, for example).
The university encourages all students to meet with an academic advisor before claiming such credit, however. Academic advisors are knowledgeable about the issues relating to individual degree plans and coursework and are able to offer you advice to help you make the best decision about if and when to claim credit. Once credit is claimed, you won’t be able to change your mind; the process is not reversible.
Claiming credit can sometimes cause issues for students. For example, the credit earned may not be needed to complete an individual student’s degree plan. If the student claims credit for the course, he or she may end up with more credit than is needed to complete the degree, and lose eligibility for the university’s $1,000 tuition rebate program in the process.
If and when you decide to claim credit for college coursework, you’ll have to have official scores or transcripts sent to the University of Texas at Austin and then go through an online process to have the credit appear on your transcript, or to “claim” credit. There is no rush to do so, however; you can take as many as ten years to claim credit earned.
Texas Success Initiative Requirements
Many new freshmen are exempt from the Texas Success Initiative (formerly TASP), a state-legislated program designed to improve student success in college. All non-exempt students are required by law to take an assessment test approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. UT Austin prefers that incoming students who are not exempt take the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA).
THEA Registration Procedure
If you aren’t exempt, you can obtain THEA Registration Bulletins at the UT TSI Office as well as all Texas public colleges and high schools. Register online or call National Evaluation Systems (NES) at 512-927-5397 for information. Test accommodations can be made for students with disabilities, and alternative test dates are available for religious reasons.